This past May, we reported that spending by super PACs was teetering on the brink of $100 million. But in a measure of how lopsided the super PAC battle has become, just three months later, conservative groups are now outspending liberal groups by that same benchmark amount.

According to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of the latest super PAC filings (disclosed earlier this week with the Federal Election Commission), conservative super PACs have spent $137.1 million through the end of July. That’s more than four times the amount that their liberal counterparts, which have managed to spend just $31.1 million through the same period.

Breaking down super PAC spending on a month-by-month basis, it’s clear that the conservative groups had a major jump on the liberal ones — in large part because of spending fueled in the closely contested Republican primary — but in recent months, liberal super PACs have stepped up their spending. For instance, liberal super PACs spent more in the month of July than they did the entirety of 2011 and the first four months of 2012 combined — about $8.3 million compared to $6.1 million. Meanwhile, in June, the partisan gap narrowed to its closest point — liberal super PACs spent $9.5 million, while conservative groups spent $11.3 million.

But just as liberal groups appeared to be catching up, the conservative super PACs stepped on the gas. In fact, the very next month, in July, conservative groups spent a total of $27 million, which nearly matched the total that liberal super PAC groups have mustered this full election cycle so far.

See the graph and chart below for the full month-by-month breakdown for 2012.

One common misconception about super PACs is that the people who give them money are anonymous. That’s not true. Super PACs are required by law to collect the names, addresses and employers of their various donors and report them to the FEC.

Our analysis of the three most prominent super PACs reveals that there are definitely different demographics backing these three heavy hitters.

the super PAC backing President Barack Obama. Obama is often derided by Republican critics as a “celebrity” president who spends too much time hobnobbing with the rich and famous from Hollywood.

And according to the latest super PAC filings, Hollywood and the entertainment industry is, by far, the single biggest source of cash for Priorities. According to our analysis, folks in TV/movies/music industry have given Priorities $5.1 million, making it the number one industry. The next two highest groups on the list are retired and business services, which have provided $3.9 and $2.4 million respectively, are two of the most general industry groupings we track, making TV/movies/music that much more of a clear cut leader.

On the other hand, analysis shows that Restore Our Future, the super PAC backing Mitt Romney, has one industry it clearly relies on: Wall Street.

The securities and investment industry is head and shoulders above any other industry in terms of giving to Restore Our Future. So far this cycle it has provided $26.1 million to the super PAC (more than the $25.5 million Priorities has raised total, it should be noted), while the next closest industry is home builders, which has given just $8.1 million. And every dime of that has come from Bob Perry, a Texas construction magnate. After Perry, real estate is the next biggest industry, having provided $5.9 million — less than one quarter of what the securities and investment industry has.

Meanwhile, American Crossroads, the super PAC organized by Karl Rove, has its own distinctive funding network — wealthy Texans.

Rove, who made his name toiling in the campaign trenches for Republican politicians in Texas before shepherding George W. Bush first to the governor’s mansion and then to the White House, has returned to his roots to fund his super PAC.

Two of the top three industries backing American Crossroads are the chemical industry and, again, home builders. “Home builders” is, again, synonymous in this case with Bob Perry, who accounts for all $4.5 million that industry has given to American Crossroads. And the chemical and related manufacturing industry, which accounts for $13 million to American Crossroads, is almost entirely accounted for by the donations of another wealthy Texan magnate — Harold Simmons, of Dallas, who owns Contran Corp., a chemical conglomerate. Securities and investment is number two on the list, with $6.4 million, but is still less than half of Simmons’ contributions alone.

If Crossroads’ donor demographics are looked at geographically, at least $25.7 million has come from donors in Texas. That’s more than 54 percent of Crossroads’ total haul. And $22 million of that comes just from Dallas (where Simmons and at least one other major donor, Crow Holdings are both based).

Russ joined the Center in March 2012 as the money-in-politics reporter. His duties include reporting for OpenSecrets Blog and assisting with press inquiries. Russ has a background in investigative journalism, having worked as a reporter for the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, and he spent five years as a newspaper reporter in New Hampshire. He has a degree in political science from Muhlenberg College and a M.A. in journalism and public affairs from American University.

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